Scripture: Genesis 2:2, Exodus 20:11
Journal: How are you at stopping? How
about resting? What cause you to resist
it, and why? What would happen if you
truly engaged both stopping and resting?
Will you? How?
Reflection:
Okay, let’s face it, we suck at stopping. We’re terrible at pressing pause, and
apparently no better when pause is pressed for us. Exhibit A, the coronavirus. One thing I have really noticed in the wake
of this outbreak is our blatant unwillingness to stop. We either can’t, or we won’t, I’m not sure
which. And that’s a problem, for a
multitude of reasons. Not the least of
which is that our unwillingness to stop puts the very lives of others—particularly
the most vulnerable among us—at risk.
But it actually goes deeper than that, because stopping is woven into
our DNA. It is essential to our
physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
And when we refuse to stop, we work in direct opposition to the way we
have been made.
Look no further than Genesis
2:2-3 and Exodus 20:11 for ample evidence.
After God himself had created the heavens and the earth, and all within
it, he stopped. The Hebrew word is shabath,
which means “to stop or cease.” God
himself stopped. But that’s not all God
did, he also rested. The Hebrew word for
rest is nuwach (Exodus 20:11), which means “to settle in.” God not only stopped, but he also settled
in to the stopping. He lived there
for a day each week, and invites us to do the same. This stopping and this settling in is a part
of who he is, and since we are made in his image and likeness it is essential
for us as well. It is deeply woven onto the
very fabric of our being, and when we refuse to do it, it tears at the image of
God that was breathed into each of us.
It is essential to the living out of God’s very good (Genesis
1:31) creation.
So what are we to do? Maybe we are to embrace, rather than resist,
this pause that has been pressed for us.
Maybe God is trying to get our attention. Maybe he is trying to teach us
something. Maybe we can use this time to
allow him to teach us a few things about the way he designed life to work. Maybe we can practice stopping and settling
in, so that when life gets back to a sense of normalcy we might actually be
better for having learned the lessons this season is trying to teach us. If we will continue to battle the obsession
(if not addiction) to go and to do, maybe we will begin to learn
how to be. Then we might actually
become more like the people he intended us to be. And that would indeed be very good.
Prayer
Closing
Prayer: He us to stop, O Lord, and settle in. For when we do that, we become more like the
people you created us to be. Amen.
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